goatsucker

American  

[goht-suhk-er] / ˈgoʊtˌsʌk ər /

noun

1. nightjar.

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goatsucker British  

/ ˈɡəʊtˌsʌkə /

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): nightjar. any nocturnal bird of the family Caprimulgidae, esp Caprimulgus europaeus ( European nightjar ): order Caprimulgiformes.

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Etymology

Origin of goatsucker

1605–15; so called because formerly believed to suck the milk of goats; translation of Latin caprimulgus, itself translation of Greek aigothḗlas

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

goatsucker

The birds have a number of nicknames, with the most unusual being 'the goatsucker'.

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026

A goatsucker may be confused with a swallow, and a swallow may pass as a tern.

From A Quantitative Study of the Nocturnal Migration of Birds. Vol.3 No.2 by George H. Lowery.

A comparison of the beaks of the guacharo and the goatsucker serves to denote how much their habits must differ.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Thomasina Ross

The varieties here collected, include the great goatsucker; the goatsuckers of Europe, New Holland, North America, and Africa; and the wedge-tailed goatsucker.

From How to See the British Museum in Four Visits by W. Blanchard Jerrold

Fern′ery, a place for rearing ferns; Fern′-owl, the European goatsucker or night-jar; Fern′-seed, the spores of ferns, which, properly gathered, render the bearers invisible; Fern′shaw, a thicket of ferns; Fern′ticle, a freckle.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

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